Barry and Sura seemed to work really well off one another. They both have similar styles, with Barry being a better shooter and Sura a better slasher. Barry really looked in control and capable of contributing this team where we need it (pushing the ball, offense, effort). I was all for the trade, and I will still be all for it when Barry goes 0-7 and half the board calls CD an idiot.
I have heard Barry is good for team chemistry. He had a very good reputation coming from Sacramento. He is a cheerleader on the sidelines and does not create waves. Very good team mate. I thought he looked good in the Clippers game. He can help, and he certainly will not hurt....
He brought energy, smarts, passion, and will get plenty of open looks. And he's a proven shooter...one of our real deficits. Just look how quickly he "fit in". He's a good addition in that he can help at the 1,2 and 3 spots. I like this move D R
He's 35 so he's going to have his ups and downs. But, he's a Barry and he's tasted success with the Kings....IMO I don't think he'll ever look over to the bench for Van Gundy's approval. As far as "cheerleading", after the Clipps game he was hamming it up with Jim Jackson. He'll be great for chemisrty.
Don’t confuse speed with efficiency. Lue could push the ball up the court faster than anyone, but once he got up the court the offense stalled. Barry may look like he is moving the ball up the court slower, but his decisions lead to faster baskets.
DaDakota put it best - he gets the ball to the open man quickly. He doesn't dribble the clock out the way Lue would, and his energy more than makes up for his age. He's definitely not the savior of the entire team, but he just might be the savior of our bench.
He did look good tonight and he played the point OK. I mentioned in another post that I didn't think his ball handling was good enough to play the point but he didn't look bad in the open court, don't know what you saw that showed you he couldn't handle a press but I didn't see it. He seems faster then Lue and with his height should add some more rebounds, he plays as advertised a seasoned, energetic veteran. I don't there will be any second guessing about this trade.
He added a spark to the team. That is what we are missing. We need someone to do some dirty work and do the small things. We still have a way to go.
Funny thing about that game last night.. it looked like a role-reversal from what Rockets fans have come to expect lately. Lok at the Clips last night: Really good big man inside (Brand), worked really hard, and managed to grind out some stats for the stat sheet. Great outside player (Maggette), got good stats, had the ball in his hands probably too much for his team to be successful. And then a bunch of serviceable role-players, none of them great, none of them contributing all that much. Team hung in there, made it close in the third qrtr, but then the other team pulled away and it never really was close. Now, substitue Yao and TMac for Brand and Maggette, and you could have been talking about most of the Rockets games this year. But last night, we looked more like the teams that have been beating us, than the team that has been so disappointing. Biggest difference? Easy baskets. Our defense has been pretty good all along, just not consistent enough in crunch time. But most of the year our offense looked almost exactly like the Clips looked last night. But last night, our offense was making it look easy. We were not having to grind and scrape and claw for every shot. I mean, how many times did Yao simply have to go straight up and drop the ball in the bucket in the first half? SO what was the offense better? Looked to me like we were making quicker, better, and more accurate passes into the post. Yao was making them pay, and they had to adjust. Juwon was hitting his shot. JJ was nailing the bottom of the bucket. Even Mo got hot. And TMac was himself. Could it all be because of Barry? No. But Barry fits in with this Rockets flavor of old-school 'high-IQ-medium-athleticism' brand of offense JVG seems to want to make here. Barry is quick where it counts - with his decisions and his passes. And he can hit the shots to make defenses pay when they sag off him. This is something that Lue did not bring as much of. And yes, his defense, particularly his weak-side helping, was pretty savvy. With this team, if the players simply do what they are capable of - if Juwon stays consistent with his top-of-the-key humper, if JJ can keep his shooting touch, if Sura keeps driving and dumping to Yao, if Yao keeps getting the calls he deserves, if TMac just keeps being TMac, if Barry can stay fresh and consistent, if Mo can keep smoking whatever it was he had last night.. that's a lot of 'ifs'.. but this season could easily finally break well for this team.. they just need to play like they played last night. I am with some of the other posters here. I believe that the total of Barry's contribution will exceed the sum of his parts. Players like him do not need to show up big in the stats every night to contribute mightily to team chemistry, and helping the team develop the mindset of a winner. Once this team learns how good it can be, and starts clicking on a night-in, night-out basis, look out! So yeah, I would have to give Barry's debut an 'A'. (caveat - Barry looked to me to be almost a totally one-handed ball-handler. That does not bode well if he is forced to be the primary point guard for anything more than a couple minutes, because as soon as the opposing coach sees that, his is going to press and that probably won't turn out well for us.. hopefully he simply remains the primary backup 2, and we are not forced to use him much at the point)
Barry looked very good last nite. His passing is what impressed me the most. Moving the ball around crisply was a big improvement. From the broadcast it sounds like VG wants to get Barret off the IR, 5 day term limit. I think with Barret and Barry coming off the bench, our energy level should be much better. I'm cautiously optimistic. One thing about last nites game is that the shots were dropping for us. In the last couple of game we have been getting good looks but they haven’t been dropping. Hopefully, last nite is a sign of things to come.
Jon Barry brings so many intangibles to this team. This is a very key trade. Granted, the numbers weren't spectactular, but this is a guy with serious basketball savvy and a great role player, which is EXACTLY what the Rockets needed. Now, get a decent rebounding PF who can get some garbage buckets (ala THEO RATLIFF) and we just might get this train completely back on the tracks.
As I said when this trade went through, Barry without playing one game, is already the third best passer on our team behind T-Mac and Barrett. He has a great sense for the game. Stuart
Start him at PG. Sura is a great defensive player but cant do jack on offense. He cant even make his layups, plus he makes so many reckless passes. Its not to late to start a Barry at PG.
oh he is a baller all right. we were at the game and you could feel the level of play and intensity rise when he was in the game.... pushing the ball up the floor, playing D, crisp passes. i yelled "Welcome To Houston" at the top of my lungs, but then he missed the free throw after, hope i didnt jinx him, he is the man...
